Static flexibility has been traditionally "the way" to prepare the muscles for work. Jogging and static stretches...the recipe for most of the athletes as a warm-up....before dynamic warm-ups came about.As we know, dynamic flexibility made its way into training programs and for a lot us, it became a component of a dynamic warm-up or movement preparation. Just like any other new thing, it is finding the right variables and formats of usage and how it all fits into conditioning.
Here are some of the findings I have based on the own experiences, movement evaluations and client feedback.
One goal of a dynamic movement preparation is OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE in the chosen activity. Stretching, whether dynamic or static, might or might not be the the best way to optimize perfomance. I have noticed that sometimes flexibility is not the component that is required for a specific individual and his/her specific sport movement.
For example, when I use walking lunge variations to prepare my client for activity, I often think how the lunge will stretch the hip flexors and abdominal wall dynamically and so on and so on..
What if the stretch is only a part of the acute adaptation the lunge creates? What if the the MAIN role of the lunge in movement preparation is STABILITY and not flexibility?
So what? What is the difference anyway? Flexibility, stability, mobility...all good things, right?
I have noticed that the exact knowledge of the goal changes the way I instruct, tweak and adjust the exercises. For example, the range of motion in an exercise changes based on the goal; a flexibility goal often drives me to further ranges of motion whereas with a stability goal I might be more interested about BASE OF SUPPORT and PROPRIOCEPTIVE DEMANDS of the exercise.
I know, why try to extract the things from each other that work together anyway? Just as Gary Gray says: "Mobility + stability = Mostability = Most Ability!
I feel that focusing on extreme ranges through dynamic flexibility during movement preparation can potentially bring us to the same point we are trying to avoid in the first place (by leaving out the extended static stretches from the warm-up). An excessive stretch in an isolated body part can "throw off" the function of the whole chain and leave the body in a vulnerable position.
ACTIVATION should result in a well-prepared movement system that has a greater potential for performance and lower risk for injury. How do we accomplish both goals?
Isn't the movement preparation routine just as individual as the rest of the program? Some people require more hip mobility in order to perform better. Others might have too much laxity in their joints and might need 'stiffening' of the joint....Possible?
Let's assume we can access the SETTINGS of our movement machinery. Let's also assume that we have "default settings" in our system that enable us to function most optimally. In order to get to those "high-performance default settings" we need to CALIBRATE the system.
Sometimes I think that the goal of movement preparation is the calibration of the movement system to its programmed high-performance settings -- whatever they are for a given individual.
Finding out what neural and soft-tissue adaptation/stimulation is required for the best possible performance environment is my task and a challenge as a coach.
Some gaps in this theory as well, but at least it activated my mind.
How about you?
Tommi
PS: That which is static and repetitive is boring. That which is dynamic and random is confusing. In between lies art. John A. Locke.
